Red Lentil Soup

Unfortunately, no creative name for this soup.  It's a no-nonsense, GBOMBS friendly workhorse in our house, getting lots of nutrients into us in a short time.  We make it on Monday and eat on it for a few days.




Ingredients:

Large onion, diced
Bell pepper, diced
3 -5 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound carrots, shredded
1/2 pound red cabbage, shredded
1 pound mushrooms, sliced or diced
1/2 - 1 pound kale or other green, chopped

Optional - other vegetables like snap peas, cauliflower, etc.

1 pound red lentils
1/2 pound organic corn kernels, frozen
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons cashew butter
1 pound frozen broccoli

Sauté the onions, garlic, peppers, in water or two teaspoons of olive oil in a soup pot for about ten minutes, chopping the other vegetables meanwhile.   Add carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, kale, etc. to the pot with 2 cups of water and continue to cook for 15 minutes.  Add lentils and 3 more cups of water, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.   Remove from heat, stir in the corn and yeast.   Remove a half cup of broth and whisk in the cashew butter, then return to the soup pot.   Serve individual servings over steamed / cooked broccoli. 

Miscellanea, Part Two

A few random things today ~


In my ongoing attempt to control the chaos, an organized refrigerator.  Post it notes show what foods go on what shelves.  I'm taking bets on how long it will stay this way....




Dogs who cannot stay out of the street do not get to help their 8 year old owner take out the trash.  Then, they pout...




My workout is done in front of an audience ....




Hubby's lunch, to go... He is easy to please...




A plant STRONG boy (checkout those calf muscles)...

Easy Eggplant

The garden is producing eggplant finally, black beauty and the japanese eggplant.  Our easiest, favorite way to eat it is such a simple recipe that it hardly deserves its own post.   Although, the taste makes up for it enough to earn a solo spot.   To make matters worse, I have no pictures of the finished dish, but I'll post them the next time I make it. 





Recipe -

1 or more Eggplant, any variety
optional - zucchini or yellow squash

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil or ground flax seed or tahini sauce*
seasonings - pepper, garlic powder, etc.


Chop the onion and garlic and water saute until the onions are nearly translucent. 
Meanwhile, peel the eggplant and dice it into cubes.   Do the same with the zucchini unless you're okay eating the skins (we do because it's from the garden - organic).   Add these to the onions and cook until soft.   Season and stir, remove from heat.

At this point, we add the oil or seed.   If using olive oil, toss about 2 teaspoons into the dish and serve.   For ground flax, sprinkle it over the top, toss and serve.  With the tahini sauce, we just pour it over and serve.

*Tahini sauce is simply 1-2 tablespoons of tahini (ground sesame seeds), a squeeze of lemon, about 1/2 teaspoon of roasted garlic, and a tiny dash of cayenne.   Mix this with a bit of water to thin.   It's basically hummus without the chickpeas.

Banana Oat Bars

This is the latest refinement of our original banana bread recipe.





Recipe -

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 large apple, diced  (or other fruit - pears work well)
      or 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-2 eggs or 1-2 chia/flax eggs
2-1/2 cups oatmeal  (you can use whole wheat or other flour)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup minced dried pineapple or other dried fruit
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (or pecans, etc)
1/2 cup seeds (pumpkin, sesame)
Cinnamon and vanilla, about a teaspoon of each


optional - 1/2 cup sweetener, your choice *

Mix together well and bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, in a 9x12 pan. 

* we no longer use any sweetener other than the raisins.  If I have time, I soak the raisins overnight to let them release their sweetness.

Pear, Apple, Cinnamon Pancakes

Necessity being the mother of invention, and me being low on applesauce, I fell into a delicious pancake recipe this morning completely by accident.

The secret is in the fruit purée that I used in place of my usual applesauce.  It made the cakes sweet and moist with no need for added sugars in the form of maple syrup or molasses.



Recipe:

1 cup flour (oat, whole wheat, etc)
1/2 cup whole oats
1 egg or chia/flax egg
1-1/2 large apple
2 ripe pears
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, more or less as needed for correct consistency
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Optional - 1 teaspoon baking powder (if desired for fluffiness, can omit)
Optional - 1/4 cup raisins or dates
Optional - 1/4 cup minced pecans

Chop the apples and pears and process in a food processor until smooth or nearly so.  Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix just until combined well.   Cook as usual, in a pan or waffle iron.